Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 0.26% at $64.39 a barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.17% at $57.99 a barrel.

The Forties Pipeline System in the North Sea was shut down Dec. 11 after operator Ineos discovered a hairline crack in a pipe. The outage has stopped the flow of 450,000 barrels of oil a day, with the result of tightening supply in the region and propping up the price of Brent.

But Ineos said Thursday it expects to complete repair work around Christmas and bring oil flowing through the pipeline “progressively back to normal rates” early in the New Year.

The expected “normalization of the supply line” and the return of crude to the market was responsible for pushing prices down slightly Thursday morning, said David Madden, a market analyst at brokerage CMC Markets.

Traders forecast U.S. shale output growth next year may exceed government forecasts, and put pressure on prices. When oil futures reached $60 a barrel this fall, U.S. shale producers hedged more barrels of oil during the quarter than in at least three years which could enable a record crude production next year, Reuters reports.

SURGE IN U.S. SHALE HEDGING TO BOOST DRILLING IN 2018

Traders forecast U.S. shale output growth next year may exceed government forecasts, and put pressure on prices. When oil futures reached $60 a barrel this fall, U.S. shale producers hedged more barrels of oil during the quarter than in at least three years which could enable a record crude production next year, Reuters reports.

FOR OIL DRILLERS, GLUT DAMPS THE EXCITEMENT AS ARCTIC OPENS UP

Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration are poised to offer up a bevy of new opportunities for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But a saturated oil market may make companies less eager to find new sites to drill.

‘We aren’t happy that this is going to trial, but now there will be the judicial process and the company and Descalzi will have the opportunity to defend themselves’

Saudi Arabia is hunting for an energy deal in American shale country, as economic upheaval pushes it to seek its first international oil-and-gas production investments, write Sarah McFarlane and Summer Said.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, has had initial conversations about taking a stake in Tellurian Inc., a liquefied-natural-gas developer based in Houston, or agreeing to buy some of its fuel in the future, people familiar with the matter said. Separately, it has inquired about acquiring assets in two giant U.S. oil-and-gas basins, the Permian and Eagle Ford, the people said.

Still, any effort to acquire American oil-and-gas production assets would mark a watershed moment for Saudi Arabia. It has been the world’s top exporter of crude oil for decades, but booming U.S. production has shaken the kingdom, and compelled the government to rethink its oil-dependent economy.

FUTURECURVE

Friday: Oil-services firm Baker Hughes Inc. releases its count of active drilling rigs, a bellwether for production in the U.S. oil industry.

Monday: The New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed in observance of the Christmas holiday.

Tuesday: The London Stock Exchange will be closed in observance of a holiday.